How? 

Keep reading! We dive into the best ways to make money doing yoga. Whether you’re an aspiring yoga instructor or a seasoned pro, you’ll love these money-making tips.

Can You Make a Living Doing Yoga? 

Absolutely! According to Indeed, yoga instructors make about $30 per hour working at gyms and yoga studios. Independent yoga instructors can make six figures taking on their own clients. When you run your own yoga business, you set the rates and pocket all of the cash (minus the cost of studio space, travel, and equipment). 

How Do You Make Money as a Yoga Instructor?

#1 Offer In-person classes

Don’t be afraid to stick to the basics. You can earn good money teaching in-person yoga classes. In-person classes give you a chance to connect with clients and offer hands-on instruction.

Yoga instructors typically charge around $20 for an hour-long, in-person class. So, you can make at least $100 per hour for a session with 5+ students.  Schedule as many classes a day as you need to hit your income goals. Just be sure to leave buffer time for rest and self-care.

Here’s a tip: Look for yoga gigs at colleges and local businesses. Universities and corporate offices offer yoga classes and other wellness activities to help their students and employees relieve stress. If they’re not actively looking, take the initiative and offer your services. It could be the beginning of a profitable partnership.

#2 Offer Private Sessions

You can make more money as a yoga instructor by offering private sessions. Some clients are shy or busy, so prefer a private lesson on their own schedule. 

It’s okay (and highly recommended) to charge more for one on one yoga lessons. Some yoga instructors charge well-over over $150 for a private session. You might make less per hour than you would for a very large class. But it can be easier to build trust with your students (and get repeat bookings) with a 1:1 session. 

It’s a good idea to offer both group classes and 1:1 yoga sessions, especially if you’re just starting out. Over time, you might find that one fits your business better. 

#3 Host Online Classes 

You can attract more clients and earn more cash as a yoga instructor by taking your classes online. Clients want online fitness classes that can be done from the comfort of their homes. 

Virtual classes allow you to take on clients across the country. And you won’t lose out on a session if a client travels or moves. The best part: you don’t have to rent a studio or pay for gym space. It’s a low-cost way to get your yoga business off the ground. 

You can offer virtual classes in the PocketSuite app using video conferencing. All you have to do is connect your Zoom account. 

#4 Sell Products

When you’re neck deep in the yoga business, you’re bombarded with ads for yoga products every day. Why not flip the script and sell products yourself? 

You know what makes yoga gear worthwhile. And clients will trust your expertise. You can sell yoga blocks, mats, or protein bars to make more as a yoga instructor. 

You don’t have to go all in on one product. Try out a few different products and see what your clients gravitate towards. Recommend equipment that could help clients in the class. Or offer a bundle of products and classes as a package in the PocketSuite App.

You can even create your own products or merchandise to sell to your students. 

#5 Write Guest Posts

You can earn extra cash by writing guest posts for yoga, fitness, and wellness blogs. Bloggers need industry experts to write content for their sites. And you don’t have to be a pro writer to make a guest post.

Type “write for us + yoga”  in your search bar. You’ll find dozens of blogs ready to pay guest writers for their yoga expertise. Just make sure the time you spend on an article is worth the pay rate. 

Guest posting is a great way to market your business and establish yourself as an authority in the industry.  Most blogs give you an author’s bio with a link to your website or booking page.

If you’re up for the challenge, you can start your own blog where you write about yoga and wellness-related topics. With time, you’ll build an audience and make money from ads and affiliate marketing.

#6 Become a Yoga Influencer

As a yoga instructor, social media is the best place to market your business (for free!). Your social media page can be a portfolio, a booking site, and a consistent stream of income, if you become a fitness influencer. 

The good news is that you can create content on dozens of platforms. You can: 

• Create short videos with quick tips on TikTok  

• Film long-form workout videos for YouTube

• Post lifestyle photos and wellness quotes on Instagram 

• Or start a podcast about yoga

Once you build a following, you can earn money from ad revenue on your content and brand partnerships. Brands will pay you to promote their products to your audience, like smartwatches, yoga sets, or equipment. 

#7 Coach a Newbie Yoga Instructor

If you’re a seasoned yoga instructor, you can earn money teaching inspiring yoga instructors to grow their businesses. People want expert advice to take their small businesses to the next level. And you have it!

You can offer beginner consultations, teach them how to attract clients and budget their expenses or share your top tips for landing repeat bookings. As a coach, you’ll guide clients through every step of building a successful yoga business.

Also, if you’re tech-savvy, you can design websites, email campaigns, and marketing materials for yoga instructors and studios. 

#8 Create a Yoga Membership

Some yoga instructors create subscription-based memberships, where their clients get access to special content for a monthly price. You can give members access to:

• Live classes

• Yoga workshops and retreats

• Networking events

• Discounts and giveaways

• Special products

• Facebook groups

• Personalized routines and meal plans

Memberships are meant to build a sense of community. So, make sure to connect with your members and offer them value. If you treat your clients like they’re part of a V.I.P. club, they’re more likely to work with you again.

#9 Develop an Online Course 

Online courses are taking over the internet. And for good reason. They give you a chance to earn extra cash for your expertise. You can create courses on:

• Prenatal yoga techniques 

• Developing a yoga routine 

• Or building a high-earning yoga business 

The possibilities are endless. Just remember to provide value to your audience. A good online course can earn money for years to come.

The Bottom Line

If you want to earn more as a yoga instructor, it’s time to diversify your services. Most yoga instructors make money from online and in-person classes or by selling memberships, products, and courses to their clients.

At PocketSuite, we want to make running your business as relaxing as a yoga session. We have all the tools you need to onboard and manage clients. You can schedule appointments, send contracts and receive payments all in one app.

Yoga instructors use their class time to practice themselves, performing the asanas (body postures) on their yoga mats as a demonstration for students to follow.

There is a difference between a yoga instructor and a yoga teacher. A yoga instructor leads group classes through various levels and types of yoga practice. This includes demonstrating various poses and guiding students into position, working on flexibility, doing administrative work for the class, getting equipment ready for each class and learning what participants want from their yoga experience.

A yoga teacher trains students who want to become yoga teachers.

We’re going to focus on yoga instructors in this article.

As a yoga instructor, you’ll use your body to demonstrate the correct way to get into poses, the most helpful breathing patterns, and tips for achieving spiritual wellness that leads to greater health and serenity. You’ll also interact directly with students, gently adjusting their bodies to reach the correct pose, provide less experienced students with alternative poses and help all members of the class with their fitness goals. Planning classes that align with the abilities of students is an important part of the job.

Physical fitness and yoga knowledge are absolute requirements for this role. Classes typically last from an hour to 90 minutes, so everyone gets a workout. You’ve got to be in good shape to demonstrate good yoga technique if you plan to offer instruction at advanced levels. The more you’ve mastered, the more valuable you will be to your students.

Great communication skills are also essential. A yoga instructor must be able to explain clearly how to move the body and what this movement should feel like.

Motivational skill is likewise important. Yoga can be physically and mentally challenging, so you must be able to push, encourage and praise your students as they reach their goals.

Read on to discover how you can become a yoga instructor, helping students achieve inner peace and enjoy greater health as a result of your teachings.

In this article you’ll learn:

• How much money you can make as a yoga instructor
• The required training and certifications
• Professional groups to join
• Employment opportunities for yoga instructors
• Finding clients
• Plus helpful tips

How much money can you make?

The average annual wage for fitness trainers and instructors, including yoga teachers, was $40,390, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment of yoga instructors is projected to grow 13 percent through 2028, the bureau reports. That’s much faster than the national average for all occupations. If you offer your own private classes, operating as an independent business owner, over time you stand to make much more money than the national average. This is because you get to decide how much you want to work, how much you will charge for classes and whether you want to specialize in certain practices such as hot yoga, for which you can charge more.

Training and Certification

There are no state or national licensing requirements for yoga instructors. However, most gyms and yoga studios require that you have a certification to teach there.  For some gyms and studios, a certification may be the only credential you’ll need.  Some facilities require that you be registered with the Yoga Alliance or have graduated from Yoga Alliance-approved training.

Becoming a yoga instructor definitely requires experience, which you can receive through a yoga teacher training program. Instructors receive credentials based on how many hours of teaching experience they have, and whether they’ve learned a specialty, like hot yoga or yoga for children.

Some employers want broadly skilled fitness instructors who can teach yoga as well as cycling, Pilates or other classes, and may prefer to hire a certified fitness instructor with yoga experience. Because of this employment trend, you may want to diversify your skill set. PocketSuite offers deep resources in other exercise disciplines for you to learn about.

Here’s an extensive listing of yoga training schools you can review to find an education program best suited to your needs.

What you’ll learn in training:

• A deeper understanding of poses and how they work together to produce the total yoga experience.
• Yoga anatomy, alignment and key modifications, including hands-on adjustments.
• Develop your leadership abilities to guide a class with confidence.
• Broaden your understanding of yoga beyond physical poses by studying pranayama (breath control), meditation, chakras (energy centers in the body), and energy anatomy (where these chakras can be found).
• Yoga philosophy and the history of yoga, including the science at the heart of these powerful poses and mental disciplines.
• Living your best life through the benefits of yoga, and how to share those benefits with students.
• How to teach yoga. There is a unique process to yoga instruction, which includes speaking deliberately and from the heart to achieve clarity and understanding.
• Making course-corrections. In sailing a boat, it is often necessary to change direction so your navigation takes you to where you want to be. Similarly, being open in the mind to accept the need for change must be followed by the ability, the will, to change.

Professional Groups to Join

The Yoga Alliance is the premiere organization devoted to yoga instructors. Members agree to abide by a code of ethical conduct and observe best practices in the teaching of yoga. Joining the alliance demonstrates dedication to your career and enhances your credibility among new students looking to enroll in a class. The initial registration cost is $115, including the application fee. After that, annual dues are $65.

Employment

Gyms, public recreation centers, the YMCA – all may offer yoga classes (or would like to) in your area.

You’ll need photocopies of your résumé, training certifications and perhaps a photo of yourself demonstrating a yoga pose. This personalizes your application package.

If you mail these materials, always follow up with a phone call to keep your name on their minds.

Be sure to check online resources such as ZipRecruiter and Indeed.com, where a simple Internet search can often turn up dozens of job openings.

Finding Clients

Planning to offer private yoga classes? Business cards and a basic website should be the core of your marketing toolkit as a yoga instructor. The website need not be fancy or expensive, just attractively designed, with photos of your classes in session (get permission from any students who are visibly recognizable). The website must also include your business location and contact information at the top of every page.

In addition to your business website, the next thing to do is create an Instagram account to showcase your yoga practice. Instagram is the #1 online venue for creative professionals to promote themselves. It’s a free marketing tool that’s always working on your behalf.

Next, set up a Facebook page for your yoga practice so that people searching for yoga instruction can find you. This, too, is a free service that can benefit your business by putting you front-and-center of potentially thousands of students.

Other strategies for attracting new business:

• Create a referral program with discounts for returning yoga students who bring new clients to you.
• Ask students to review your classes online. According to a recent survey, 90% of people say their buying decisions are influenced by positive online reviews.

Good to know:

7 tips to Help New Yoga Teachers.

Be authentic

Always be your true self, the person who practices yoga because it makes you feel alive and brightens the surrounding world. Plus, students will quickly recognize instructors who “keep it real” and motivate with their passion for yoga.

Plan classes thoughtfully

Each class should be thought out by identifying the goals for the session, while building in time for breathing and meditation, in addition to work on poses. Each class should build on the previous session so there is a forward momentum to your instruction. Be sure you have everything you need before going to class – yoga mat, music and a device for playing the music, chimes, a soft-toned bell – everything you would require.

Be on time

Always get to class before your students to set up and be prepared to start on time. This is a powerful demonstration that you are in control of your own life.

Play music during class

You can use a music streaming service or build a playlist of soothing music on your smartphone. Invest in a decent, portable Bluetooth speaker so you can play your music at a volume the class can hear. The phone’s built-in speaker is usually terrible for listening to music.

Don’t be too serious

Life is about pursuing happiness and enjoying the sensation of being alive. Be able to laugh at yourself if you make a mistake in class – even if you fall out of a pose onto your mat. It is nothing more than a reminder of our common humanity. Students will love you for it.

Dress to impress

Invest in your yoga wardrobe by selecting clothes that reflect your personal style yet are also functional and durable. Yes, students come to class to learn yoga, but they also pick up nonverbal cues such as how instructors present themselves. Be sure to present the image you want to project.

Build a rapport with students

Learn everyone’s name. Try to learn what you can about their lives outside of yoga class. People respond favorably to people who show a genuine interest in them. This can pay off with exponential benefits. Students see that you care and are interested. They tell others about their positive experience in yoga class. Their friends become intrigued and sign up for one of your classes. Before you know it, you’ve maxed out on the number of students you can teach. Not a bad problem to have.

If you enjoyed this article, check out some more great PocketSuite.io content that can help you grow your career as a yoga instructor. Here’s a great place to start.PocketSuite has thousands of business owners who all started where you are right now. Our community is always happy to help you ramp up, grow your client base, and achieve your income goals, both within the PocketSuite app and as part of our exclusive Facebook Community Group. PocketSuite’s vision is for any professional to be able to work for themselves and make a great living. It starts here. It starts with you. It starts today. Let’s get started, download PocketSuite now! Feel free to reach out with any questions (we’d love to hear from you)! Text us @ (415) 841-2300.